The greatest WTF I've ever seen....

What a Friday. Absoluteley nuts. I go to work stoked about a project I'm working on (mostly for free since I've been denied time on it from the upper managers). Work through the morning designing and planning with my minion Phil exactly how this sweet piece of software will come to fruition. It's great to be back in Python land. Yay Python!!! This project has been rather jacked, with an original plan of 1 month and $10K to get it done, which turned into 2 weeks and $10K the next day, followed by $37K but a week to get it done the next. Wow.

Go to lunch at Shipfeifer (gyros and chicken wings...mmmmm) and have a blast. When I get back to the office, I found an IM stating that the other lab that was gonna help us has dropped out completely. Crap on a stick. That leaves me at 1 day a week, Phil full time and another engineer Micah at 25-100% for a week. That's it. Bad times. We redesign in the afternoon to adjust for the new hell we have entered. I think we can get it done. We'll see.

On the way home, I pick up my dog Aiko at my parents. We leave at 5, heading home so Matt and I can hit the gym before poker. On the way, I'm preparing to make a right hand turn, another guy (call him A) is making a left hand turn onto the streetI'm turning onto. One more guy (B) is turning right off the street. A makes his turn and sideswipes B. In his massive overcorrection, he turns right 90 degrees, hops the curb, whips around and heads down the ravine on the grounds of a church. He ends up passenger side down in a creek bed. I park and head over to help. B is on the phone with the police and I and 2 other guys head down to help the guys in the car.

A and his mom are in there, and say their fine. A is a "student dirver" (easily my age) and has just hit someone on his first time on the road. We get him out through the window, but his mom wasn't gonna fit. One of the other guys gets in the car and adjust things so she can get out the back door. She seemingly can't comprehend how to do this exactly, but we finally get her out after informing her that the car has bottomed out on rocks before semi flipping, and she needs to get out in case the gas line has somehow ruptured. Police and EMTs arrive, I head home.

When poker hits, I have a different kind of experience than usual. Our game is very much a drink and have fun game, and turns all in pretty fast (Mark, Kuro...the $10 buy-in is on the horizon, 5 min 10 max has been agreed to). I usually join the revalry early on. Tonight however, I am waiting on Brandie to get off work late and want to be sentient when she gets there. Untrue to form, I had a single beer before midnight. That lead to something I had forgotten about at our game, smarter poker.

I tried to run a bluff with 10/7 d but made the mistake of doing it against Bibb. Anyone who knows the game knows he rivers WAY more things than I do (and I'm known as 'suckout'). Bad move. He calls my all in after a bit of thought and takes it down. On the next hand I get the red 9's one off the button in a straddled pot (whoo! 40 whole cents). After 3 calls, Hal on my right makes it a dollar, and I push. All fold to Bibb, who tanks again, then finally calls. All others fold and he flips 8's. I hold and take the pot. All my previous chips are back belong to me. From there, I stayed steady for a while, picking up pots on trip jacks, 2nd pair and 4 flush on the flop that flushed out, and a few others (for a while every hand was straddled, making the pots a bit sweeter).

Finally, I pick up A's UTG in a straddled pot. I knew Ron had been raising unraised pots all night, so I just called. True to form, he makes it $3 to go. Fold around to Hal who pushes (something like 10 bucks). I'm sitting with 2 green chips ($5) and a mountain of red/blue/white ($1/$.25/$.10) and push myself. Ron calls and flips K/10 off. Hal flips Q's. Oh joy of joys. The rest is history. By the end of the night (which was only like 11 due to Don and I crippling the tables funds), I had made $45 in addition to my 2 buy-ins back. Good night overall.

As a final thought, I watcched the speed poker championship on TV the other day. Fox Sports...please don't show it again. I watch every bit of poker on TV (I watch a lot of TV usually) and have never until now seen one I would not watch again. 15 seconds to act on every play is, in my opinion, crap. Stop it, please. Keep the soccer channel though.

The Great Escape...

Ever have one of those events when hanging with your family that just screams "Wow, my family's cool"? So my grandfather is in a rehab clinic, as he fell and broke his hip about 2 weeks ago (too many broken bones in our family recently...I just came off a massively broken ankle). Out of the hospital and living in the rehab clinic must be fairly boring, though better than the hospital I guess.

Anyway, we went to have Easter lunch with him today (2 families to hit, so the other is tomorrow). We had called ahead for reservations at the restaurant and had verbal ok's from his doctor. On arrival, we were told that since it wasn't in writing, he couldn't go out; too much risk or something. He is not there against his will, and technically can leave at any time, but can't go out to lunch with his family during Easter (I'm an athiest, but I play my cards to the most profitable play...hit 'em in the weak spot, which in rural GA in the Easter card this time of year).

My family then plotted the most brilliant and devious thing I have ever seen them involved in. We would break my grandfather out of the place. I thought it, but didn't say it. My mom and dad DID! H.F.S. Batman! We wheeled him out and said we were going for a walk. We got the cars, got him in, and took off.

We ate our lunch and told our tale to the waitress. During her sympathetic bout and praise for such a brave undertaking, in walked my grandfather's pyhysical therepist. She came over and said hey, and was thrilled that we got him out for lunch. What better therepy is there than food and family in the middle of a sentence far more brutal than the 5 hour purgatory at the Gold Strike? After knocking over his oxygen tank (I'm clumsy and it's my dad's fault) we were on our way back.

No sooner did we arrive and sit outside for a talk, did a nurse come out wondering where we had been. She had "been all over the building" looking for us (which probably meant looking out the window and in his room), and wans't able to find us. My dad said we had been there the whole time. The nurse went in to tell all that we had been found. The next thing we knew, the faciliy's Nurse Ratchet came out, saying the same thing about going all over the place looking for us. "Good, at least you got your excercise" my mother quipped at the slighty (ok, very) out of shape temporary health care professional (score mom...oooooo, burn).

We were berated about how it was against the rules to leave and how Medicare might not pay anymore, and that the facility could loose their licence. The whole time my family would say things to the effect of "no, we never left", "we were just on a walk", "cars, what cars?". A line about crossing the street to climb the water tower even got out under breath. Total brilliance, bluffed better than the Moneymaker/Farha hand at the final table of the 2003 WSOP. Nurse Ratchet left, and the family got the story straight...they had no proof we left, so there was nothing they could do (Madison GA, very little technology around). I guess writing this constitutes as proof, but hey, I play poker. I can lie at any time.

It's a proud moment when children can realize their parents are just older versions of themselves, and that they would do the same kind of rulebreaking stuff that kept us going through highschool. Props to the 'rents, and I will never feel bad about breaking the rules again. I learned it by watching you...

Brilliant. Now all we need are Monkeys and Robots...

I like to see that most Christans can have fun (I know quite a few who think it's a sin). This was sent to me at work, and seriously brightened my day. We need to have a party like this...at UGA...with the same cops...crew?

Tunica trip report day 2 - 04/01/06

Good start to the day (after getting Sham out of bed). Went to the Atrium for lunch. First session (at the Strike, 5 hours into the 10 required for the room rate) started kinda rough. Shortly into it though...good times. Aces twice in three hands (and both held up) for big pots. Q's three times (held up) and aces again a while later (with an excellent check raise on 4th that worked to perfection). Thanks to plenty of speculative hands pre-flop, only got to slightly over 2 big bets per hour, but it was (in my opinion) the best session I've played. Kuro got to the table about half way through the 4 hours and played out the session with me.

Went to the Horseshoe steakhouse for dinner. Excellent (and 'spensive). French onion soup, a
wedge salad with bleu cheese, and a medium-rare (more rare) NY strip were the targets on my
mission. Great food. It reminded me of the one in the Vegas 'shoe, without the view and bleu
cheese steak. Oh well.

After that, Daniel wanted to go to the Isle Of Caprie (sp?) outside of town (20ish miles) because they had re-opened their poker room and none of us had chips. Cool, except as soon as we got out of the parking lot, the sky opened up. Tunica is a really good place to see lightning if you're into that. Got there in about 40 minutes (in the phone with Mark part of the way, again, good times). The poker room had a problem. Only a single full table. I didn't get a look (I was, umm, busy...) but I was told the tables were much like the Imperial Palace in Vegas (bad times). Got our chips, then got out (Ron called me twice in 10 minutes as soon as we left trying to get me to listen to a band he was listening to at a bar in the Atl...don't try that at home).

Back to the Strike to finish my sentence. One hour to go. Sat at the table for a hand. Noticed it was VERY hot. After the hand, Arthur (room manager) moved us to another table for that reason. It wasn't much better, but it was a little better. Came to find out the power went out during the bad storm, and hosed the AC. Great. I got 2 full houses in 5 hands, then A's 3 later. This started my downfall.A's got cracked by a 5/3 that flushed (which mind you was UTG, then cold called a raise, reraise, and my re-reraise...but it was soooooooted...). Oh well.

Twas an iteresting table. I saw my first Misfits (my favorite band) tat on a poker trip (on a pretty attrctive girl, nice). Had the obligatory annoying "talk stupid crap to everyone guy". I also learned an interesting tidbit. If you're in the Strike poker room on the night of a time change (during the time change) and are working off your indetured slavitude, the clocks update time, (spring forward), but don't have the smarts to apply it to your time (I was in for 1h 40min, and the clock at the end said 2h 40min).

So now it's 4:45 local. I have to meet Sham and Kuro at 10 for breakfast and a 7 hour drive. Drink time (bout time) and bedtime.

Tunica trip report day 1 - 03/31/06

Card death...a horrible, horrible fate. One I always seem to find without fail when I go on poker trips. Not good times. 4 hours of 9/3 off or J6 off, with an single K/10 suited and an A/J and a few things worth seeing flops, but that fizzled. Again, not good times. This all transpired at the Gold Strike on Tunica Mark II day 1 (hours 0-4 if you're interested).

$216 down, sure, not too much, especially if you play higher limits (which I don't). but not a great start to the trip. Kuro suggested we go to Sham's Town so he could get a chip and take a picture...not my favorite place (though the only place I have ever played at where smoking is allowed at the table, which is not necessarily a good thing). Sure, why not? A fresh location was just what I wanted...if not what I really needed.

After using the restroom at the 'Shoe (which, as Sham found rather funny, had no paper towels...in 4 dispensers, which I found very, well, wet), We agreed and headed to Sham's Town. Walking in, memories of Tunica Mark I flooded in. Oh, there's the great players card line! Hey, the escolators! Hey the poker room...wait, something's different...it's...bigger. Cool. Hold up...it's no longer smoking. Huh.

So I proceeded to sit in my first 4/8 game. Hesitent? Na. Slightly larger than the 3/6 I was playing...maybe people will respect raises a bit more. Maybe I won't be rivered (in terribly small pots mind you) 8 times in 4 hours (said card dead, didn't say I didn't do some things). Maybe I can crawl out of the hole I got into (shallow though it was, I realize).

Cards were definitly better. Pocket Q's, which was great except for the guy to my left having A's. Crap. Got really lucky with a K/Q d big blind (me) vs. the button I think. Flop came 10xx (1 diamond, check check), then J, check, bet, raise, call, followed by a Q (the way this guy was playing, to me at least, made it quite obvious he had a J, and the OESD along with 2 higher cards for out made me try a move...right/wrong?). He had a J and lost. He was not amused and kept saying something about "time will tell, time will tell". Whatever

Got Q's again. I raised, still 4 in the pot at the flop (Kuro and Sham included, as well as this...as Kuro who played with him in the past says...lunatic). I won the hand, but Kuro correctly points out a way I could have cut their odds to draw. He hung around due to the pot odds. In hindsight, I agree. Anyway, we played for an hour, and I cashed out plus $50. Back to the Strike (and 3/6).

Gang rape. Not a term I'm terribly fond of, unless I'm involved, and the rape ocurrs at a poker table (and doesn't involve physical rape, just taking someone down). First hand in, I get pocket K's in the cutoff (best all day!). Call, call, raise, fold, fold, call, reraise, fold, call, call, call, call, call. Sweet. Flop comes 4Q4. Bet, call, fold, fold, fold, fold, raise, call, fold. Heads up. Turn, King. Excellent. He bets, I raise, he calls. River, offsuit 2. He bets, I raise, he calls...with a pair of 9's. Ok.

Had I been catching, I coulda joined in on the rest. This guy got manhandled hard core. He had new chips everytime I looked up. Don't know where his $$ came from (not the table), but it didn't matter. He got reamed. Certainly made me feel better. This other guy on my right kept busting and then buying stacks off me (which was fine because I needed sleep, and was leavng soon anyway). The last orbit I was to play turned expenive, and only got out +$19. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day...

First post!!! Whoo!!!

Oh wait, this isn't Slashdot...I always get first post here. Still, first post!

Recovery...the first step back to life after a "home game". It's quoted because not too many cards were played. Plenty of people, but slow going. Plenty of alcohol though. Plenty doen't seem to do the alcohol justice.

The purpose of the night was a cookout, poker, and fill my liquor cabinet, and fill it they did. Kuro brought pisco and Irish Whiskey (and chicken wings, score!). Sham brought Crown (and ribs, double score!). Through the rest of the crew we now have stocked: Absenthe, some home brewed apple thing (that's good, but scarrily looks of moonshine, complete with non-labeled bottle), 3 bottles of rum, Gin, Hennesy, and Scotch. Added to my (horde of) tequila, SoCo, Arak, brandy, amaretto, wines, and Vodka (that must be separated from the rest in the freezer) the final table is strong...less strong than before the drinking began, but still strong.

Another highlight, my brother and his wife came. I've been trying to get them over for one of our nights for a while. I hope they had fun even though they got pelted with fan dist and R\ebecca had a drink spilled on her (or so I was told, I was doing many things).

Anyway, I now have a blog huh? I never thought I would, but the right motivation came my way. I've been reading Kuro's, Mark's, and Sham's for a while, and they're great. I just never thought I would. Just another thing that takes free time, and I have next to none now. Oh well, let's see what happens. I call.

Since I'm in the state of recovery, words working not so good now right...I'll have the Tunica trip report up next (I was to start this thing last weekend, but failed in the endeavor). Also, just so you know, I love parentheses and ellipses. You will see a lot of them here. Ellipses are an absolutely perfect segue to anything...and parentheses...well...they parenth things really good (take that English!).

As for the name, I'm a geek. I love to write code and work with computers. I find physics, programming, and math jokes funny (and shirts with similar tones...Obey Gravity, It's the Law...hi-frikkin-larious). The name is pronounceable (a requirement) and RECURSIVE!!! In programming, a recursive function/method is one that calls itself. I like to think of it as being in one of those rooms with mirrors on opposing walls that allow you to see many reflections of the same thing over and over (the recursion stack). Here, the first letter stands for the acronym itself. GNU (free software foundation world) stands for GNU's Not Unix. Simple and beautiful, elegant even. Empire put it best last night..."Recursive acronyms are what happens when only the geeks, not the marketing department, are invited to the naming party. It's what they do". Elegant even...till next time.